Rural-route mail-service apparatus.



Patented Oct. 7, I902.

M. S. HOOVER.

RURAL ROUTE MAIL SERVICEAPPARATUS.

(Application fi lad June 20, 1902.)

(No Model.)

II II ll II II II I] In 11 II 8mm Mom-0e S'Boover UNITED STATES PATENT OEElCE.

MONROE S. HOOVER, OF NEWCASTLE, INDIANA.

RU RAL-ROUTE MAIL-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 710,457, dated October '7, 1902.

Application filed June 20, 1902.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, MONROE S. HOOVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newcastle, in the county of Henry and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rural-Route Mail-Service Apparatus,of which the followingisa speciiication.

The present rapid establishment of free delivery of mail along rural routes requires the erection of mail-receiving receptacles along the public'road which is used by the mailcarrier, and it is often necessary for a farmer to place his mail-receiving box at a considerable distance from his house, sometimes as much as a mile. Under these circumstances it is necessary to make trips to the mail-box both to deposit mail and to extract mail therefrom, and such trips consume considerable time and involve considerable labor.

The object of my present invention is, therefore, to produce a mechanism consisting, es-

sentially, of an endless cable and a pair of cars secured to said cable, together with supporting means for the cable, whereby the cable may be extended from a house to a distant point upon the public highway, for instance, and provided with means by which the cable may be moved, so that the cars may be carried from house to road and return, the arrangement of the two cars being such that when one is at one end of the line the other will be at the opposite end of the line.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective View showing the manner of erection. Fig. 2 is a plan of the two ends of my device, the intermediate portion being omitted. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a transverse section near one of the supporting-posts.

In the drawings, 10 indicates an endless cable of a length sufficient to reach, say, from the house 11 to the public highway 12. Erected near the highway 12 is a post 13, which carries at or near its upper end an idler-wheel 14:, supported upon a vertical shaft 15, said shaft being carried by a bracket 16, which is horizontally adjustable upon the post 13 by means of a suitable adjusting-screw 17. Erected near the house 11 or at any other de- Serial No, 112,506. (No model-l sirable point is a. post 18, to which is secured a bracket 19, having a-pair of bearings 20, in which is journaled a vertical shaft 21. Shaft 21 carries at its upper end a driving-wheel 22, which is like the idler 14 and is preferably provided with a horizontal flange 22', and secured to the lower end of the shaft 21 is a bevel-gear 23, which meshes with a similar gear 2a, carried by an operating-shaft 25, to which is secured a suitable crank 26. Secured by suitable hangers 27 to cable 10 is a receptacle or car 28, provided at one side or end with a door 2 The car 28 is preferably permanently secu red to the cable 10, although not necessarily so, and similarly secured to the cable 10 by hangers 27 is a second car 28, provided with a door 29, the car 28 being secured to the cable 10 at a point such that when the car 28 is at one end of the linesay near the post 18-the car 28 will be at the other end of the line, (near the post 13.) The intermediate portions of the cable may be supported upon suitable pulleys or idlers 30, each of whichis carried by a hanger 31,-the hangers 31 being secured in pairs to the crossarm 32 of the post 33.

In use a post 13 will be erected at the outer end of the line-11 6., at the point where the mail-carrier may conveniently reach the same along the line of his route-a post 18, together with the mechanism carried thereby, will be erected at a convenient point near the house, intermediate posts 33 will be erected, enough being used to properly support the cable, and

. a cable 10, together with the two cars 28 and 28', properly attached thereto, be placed in position. The operator will then grasp crank 26 and rotate shaft 21, so as to drive the cable until one of the cars lies near the house end, at which time the operator will know, owing to the relative position of the two cars upon the cable, that the other car will be properly located at the opposite or outer end of the line Whether this end of the line may be seen from the operating end or not. Here the cars may be allowed to remain, and if the mailcarrier or any other person desires to deposit matter in the car which is at the outer end of the line he may do so. The operator at any desired time may by again operating the crank 26 drive the car which is at the inner end of the line to the outer end of the line,

having first deposited therein any matter which he may desire to deliver to the mailcarrier, and at the same time draw the car which has been at the outer end of the line to the inner end of the line, being perfectly assured that when the car which has been at the outer end of the line reaches the inner end of the line the other car will be properly positioned at the outer end of the line.

It will be very readily understood from the above description that my device will be of very great convenience to those who live at a distance from an established mail route, yet who desire to have their mail delivered to them, and it will also be readily understood that by this means convenient communication may be had between neighbors, in which case it will be desirable to substitute for the idler 14 a driving-wheel 22, together with the necespair of cars attached to said cable at points such that when one is at one end of the line the other will be at the opposite end of the line.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a vertical shaft, of a cable receiving wheel carried thereby, a crank, intermediate gearing between said crank and shaft, an endless cable, a second horizontal wheel, means for supporting said wheel at the opposite end of the line, an endless cable carried by and extending between the two wheels, means for supporting the intermediate portions of the cable, and a pair of cars secured to said cable at such points that when one is at one end of the line the other will be at the opposite end of the line, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Newcastle, Indiana, this 13th day of June, A. D. 1902.

MONROE S. HOOVER. [L. s.]

Witnesses: v

A. T. WHITE, ENOCH A. NATION. 

